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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton In The Major League Baseball Playoffs
October 09, 2015 | Baseball
COMPLETE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCHEDULE
PRINCETON, N.J. – With the Major League Baseball (MLB) playoffs underway, three former Tigers find themselves on teams in pursuit of the game's biggest prize.
Will Venable '05 and Ross Ohlendorf '05 were named to the Texas Rangers' roster for the American League Division Series (ALDS) against the Toronto Blue Jays, while Chris Young '02 stars for the defending AL champion Kansas City Royals.
With Venable, Ohlendorf and Young still playing this October, Princeton joins Georgia, Stanford and Texas A&M as the schools with the most former players (3) on the 25-man rosters for the remaining eight playoff teams.
DAILY WATCH
Saturday, Oct. 31
Royals 5, Mets 3 - Young (4.0IP 2H, 2R, 1BB, 3K)
Retiring the Mets in order in the first, Young got leadoff hitter Curtis Granderson to ground out to second before David Wright lifted a fly ball to left. Young then got Daniel Murphy to line out to right to end the inning. Going right back to work in the second, Young fanned Yoenis Cespedes before getting Lucas Duda to ground out to first. Travis d'Arnaud followed with a grounder to third.
With Young retiring the first six batters he faced, Michael Conforto broke the deadlock in the third with a leadoff homer to right. After singling to center, Wilmer Flores moved to second on a wild pitch before going to third on a Steven Matz sacrifice bunt. Granderson followed with a sacrifice fly to right that brought in Flores. After Wright drew a two-out walk, Young closed out the inning by getting Murphy to pop-out to second.
Keeping the Royals within striking distance at 2-0, Young worked a clean fourth. Striking out Cespedes to start the inning, Young fanned Duda for the second out. Young then got Travis d'Arnaud to pop-out to first to end the inning.
With Kansas City scratching a run across in the top of the fifth, Young was lifted for pinch hitter Kendrys Morales with the tying run aboard.
Friday, Oct. 30
Mets 9, Royals 3 - Young (DNP)
Wednesday, Oct. 28
Royals 7, Mets 1 - Young (DNP)
Tuesday, Oct. 27
Royals 5, Mets 4 (14 Inn.) - Young (3IP, 0H, 0R, 4K, 0BB)
Princeton alum Chris Young pitched three hitless, scoreless innings to earn the win in relief as the Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Mets 5-4 in 14 innings in Game 1 of the World Series.
Young struck out four and walked one. He started out by striking out Daniel Murphy, Yoenis Cespedes and Lucas Duda in the 12th and finished by getting Curtis Granderson, David Wright and Murphy 1-2-3 in the 14th. Young earned the win when the Royals got a run in the bottom of the 14th.
Friday, Oct. 23
Royals 4, Blue Jays 3 - Young (DNP)
Wednesday, Oct. 21
Blue Jays 7, Royals 1 - Young (DNP)
Tuesday, October 20
Royals 14, Blue Jays 2 - Young (4.2 IP, 3H, 2ER, 2BB, 4K)
The first Princeton player to ever start a League Championship Series, former Tiger Chris Young turned in 4.2 solid innings to help the Kansas City Royals to a 14-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Spotted a 4-0 lead, Young made quick work of the Blue Jays in the first couple of innings. Striking out leadoff hitter Ben Revere, Young walked Josh Donaldson on four pitches. Battling back, Young fanned Jose Bautista before getting Edwin Encarnacion swinging to end the first. In the second, Young got Chris Colabello to ground out to short before retiring Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin with a pair of fly balls to right.
Getting Kevin Pillar out on a pop-up to shallow center to open the third, Young had to pitch out of a jam. Surrendering his first hit to Ryan Goins on a bloop single to left, Young walked Revere. Donaldson followed with a ground-rule double to left that scored the Blue Jays' first run. With Toronto pushing another run across the plate on a Bautista groundout to second, Young got Encarnacion to fly out to right to limit the damage.
Settling back in the following inning, Young retired the side in order. With Colabello lining out to third to start the frame, Young induced Tulowitzki to ground out to short. Young then got Russell Martin to ground out to third to end the inning.
Getting the first two outs of the fifth, Young struck out Pillar before Goins flied out to left. Allowing a single to Revere, Young closed out his day, giving way to Luke Hochevar. Pitching 4.2 innings, Young finished with four strikeouts, allowing two runs on three hits.
Monday, October 19
Blue Jays 11, Royals 8 - Young (DNP)
Saturday, October 17
Royals 6, Blue Jays 3 - Young (DNP)
Friday, October 16
Royals 5, Blue Jays 0 - Young (DNP)
Wednesday, Oct. 14
Blue Jays 6, Rangers 3 - Venable (0-1), Ohlendorf (DNP)
Royals 7, Astros 2 - Young (DNP)
Monday, October 12
Blue Jays 8, Rangers 4 - Venable (Defensive Sub, 8th), Ohlendorf (1.0 IP, 0R, 1H, 2K, 0BB)
Ross Ohlendorf tossed another shutout inning for the Rangers in an 8-4 loss. Entering the game in the top of the sixth, Ohlendorf struck out John Donaldson before getting Jose Bautista to fly out to right. After giving up a double to Edwin Encarnacion, Ohlendorf struck Chris Colabello out swinging to end the inning. Fellow Tiger Will Venable entered the game in the top of the eighth as a defensive substitution in left field.
Royals 9, Astros 6 - Young (DNP)
Sunday, October 11
Blue Jays 5, Rangers 1 - Venable (DNP), Ohlendorf (1.1 Inn., 1 H, 0R, 0BB, 0K)
Ross Ohlendorf pitched 1.1 shutout innings in the Rangers' 5-1 loss to Toronto on Sunday. Coming on with two outs in the seventh, Ohlendorf got Jose Bautista to pop-out to end the inning. Retiring Edwin Encarnacion to start the eighth, Ohlendorf got Chris Colabello to lift a fly ball to right for the second out. After surrendering a single to Troy Tulowitzki, Ohlendorf popped up Dioner Navarro to close out his outing.
Astros 4, Royals 2 - Young (DNP)
Friday, October 9
Rangers 6, Blue Jays 4 (14 Inn.)
Ross Ohlendorf became the first Tiger to record a postseason save and Will Venable had a single in extra innings as the Rangers defeated the Blue Jays, 6-4, in 14 innings to take a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series.
Venable entered the game in the 11th inning as a pinch runner for Prince Fielder. Ultimately left stranded at third, Venable came up in the 13th, singling to center with two outs.
Still knotted at 4-4 in the 14th, the Rangers pulled ahead with a pair of runs. Replacing Keone Kela, Ohlendorf was the sixth Texas pitcher used in the contest. Opening the inning by striking Troy Tulowitzki out looking, Ohlendorf got Justin Smoak swinging for the second out. After hitting Russell Martin with a pitch, Ohlendorf fanned Kevin Pillar to lock up the first career postseason save by a former Princeton player.
Royals 5, Astros 4 - Young (DNP)
Thursday, Oct. 8
Astros 5, Royals 2 - Young (4.0 IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 7K, 2BB)
Taking over for starter Yordano Ventura in game one of an ALDS series against the Houston Astros, Young tossed four strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out seven. Coming into the game in the third inning following a lengthy rain delay, Young struck out six of the first seven batters he faced, setting a new Royals postseason record with seven strikeouts by a relief pitcher.
With the Astros jumping out to a 3-1 lead thanks to five hits in the game's first two innings, Young helped keep Kansas City within striking distance by slowing down the Astros' offense. Fanning Carlos Correa to start the third, Young issued a walk to Colby Rasmus before striking out Evan Gattis and Luis Valbuena to end the inning. In the fourth, Young got Chris Carter, Jason Castro, and Jake Marisnick swinging to set the Royals' new benchmark.
Drafted in the third round (89th overall) of the 2000 MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Young was a two-time first-team All-Ivy selection for the Tigers, posting the league's lowest ERA in 1999 and 2000. The conference's Rookie of the Year in 1999, he was an All-America selection the following season.
In 11 major league seasons, Young has posted a 76-58 record with a 3.69 earned run average. Making his MLB debut for the Rangers in 2004, he spent two seasons in Texas before enjoying a stellar five-year run with the San Diego Padres that included an All-Star selection in 2007. In those five seasons, Young went 33-25 with a 3.60 ERA.
Suffering a shoulder injury that landed him on the disabled list several times following the 2008 season, he played just 60 games over the next five years. Re-establishing himself last season, Young went 12-9 while posting a 3.65 ERA in 30 games for the Seattle Mariners, winning the American League Comeback Player of the Year award. Signing with the Royals this spring, Young is 11-6 on the year in 18 starts, posting a 3.06 ERA in 123.1 innings spread across 34 total appearances.
Rangers 5, Blue Jays 3 - Venable (Defensive sub, Bot. 9), Ohlendorf (DNP)
Acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres, Venable joined the Rangers for their playoff push in August. Venable spent his first eight seasons with the Padres, hitting .252 with a .316 on-base percentage, 304 RBI, 114 doubles, 81 home runs, 39 triples, 130 stolen bases, and 370 runs scored.
Prior to the trade, Venable hit .258 for San Diego with a .318 OBP, 30 RBI, 10 doubles, six home runs, 11 stolen bases, and 34 runs scored this season. Seeing action in 37 games for the Rangers down the stretch, Venable entered the Texas' game one 5-3 ALDS win over Toronto in the bottom of the ninth inning as a defensive substitution, replacing left fielder Josh Hamilton.
An eight-year MLB veteran, Ohlendorf opened the year with the Rangers before being designated for assignment. After briefly electing for free agency, Ohlendorf re-signed with Texas in August and has pitched to a 3.72 ERA in 19.1 innings. In eight major league seasons, Ohlendorf has posted a 4.84 ERA in 521.0 innings with 376 strikeouts.
Both selected in the 2005 MLB Draft, Ohlendorf went to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth round (116 overall) before Venable was chosen by San Diego in the seventh round (218 overall). A two-time All-Ivy selection, Ohlendorf was the 2002 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and finished his career ranked among the program's leaders in strikeouts (178) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.67). Also a two-time All-Ivy pick, Venable is among the Tigers' all-time leaders in batting average (.333), home runs (11), slugging percentage (.501) and stolen bases (26).
Click here for a complete schedule of the Major League Baseball playoffs.